Today's Family & Kids Activities in Long Island-Feb 7

February 7, 2013
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Daily activities for kids and the family are abound in Long Island! Whether you want to spend the day with your children at a zoo, a museum, or just outdoors, we've got it all here. Want to see what's going on next weekend or when you have those few days off? Check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar!

Why not introduce another language to your child while they are young and receptive to new things? These Spanish workshops are drop in and do not require advance sign up. A different theme will be covered each week and a class project and song will be used to reinforce learning. Take home activities will also be distributed at the end of each class.

Learn to play chess or perfect your skills in these instructional sessions (Grades 2-6). All levels are welcome. Hosted by the Long Island Chess Nuts. Chess sets will be provided. Registration required.

Dr. James Kolb, Professor of Drama and Dance at Hofstra University discusses the work of Andrew Lloyd Webber whose career spans the last four decades of the 20th century and into the 21st, beginning with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, followed by Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Cats, Starlight Express, The Phantom of the Opera, Aspects of Love, Sunset Boulevard, Whistle Down the Wind, The Beautiful Game and Love Never Dies. His work has been profoundly influenced by his family�s involvement in classical music, and his youthful enthusiasm for the American musical theatre.

This is a fun-filled class devoted to creating your own Valentine-shaped cookies. Delicious cookie dough will be provided along with Valentine-shaped cookie cutters and special confections to decorate with. Give each of your special valentines a custom-made cookie that you have personally made for them. Celebrations in the Kitchen will even specially wrap it for you.

Bring a sandwich and enjoy lunch with friends as Museum Docent Riva Ettus presents an informative talk on Artists in America. Then join the 2pm public exhibition tour of this exhibition of more than 300 years of American Art. No reservations. First come, first seated.

A 45-minute film exploring the works of one of the greatest 20th-century American painters and illustrators, whose work was characterized by blue skies, pastoral landscapes and captivating figures. First come, first seated.

Children ages 3-5 along with their parents discover the wonders of their natural world together. Each program's theme will use nature explorations and hands-on activities as a springboard for learning. This week's theme is "To Nature With Love." All programs conducted on the north side of the park unless otherwise noted. Reservations required for all programs.

In this live poetry event, middle school students from Montauk school will read original works, selected poems, memorized works, and fellow students’ poems on the stage of the John Drew Theater. The students have been working in school with professional poets to learn how to write, revise and present their own original works of poetry.

Want the convenience of a modern gym at a fraction of the price? Check out RetroFitness where the goal is health and fitness and the price is $19.99 per month for life. Classes are starting up now. Childcare is available. The Grand Openinruns through February 13, 2013.

Now there's even more reason for families to plan the weekend around a visit to Nassau County Museum of Art. Learn from a docent-led family walk-through of the exhibition and supervised art activities for the whole family beginning at 1:30pm. Special family guides of the main exhibition are available in the galleries. No reservations needed.

Artists in America surveys 300 years of great American painting rarely seen on Long Island. Its 79 works dating from the early 1700s to the present include history painting, landscape, portraits, still life, and modernist abstraction with significant examples of photography, collage, and other media. Major artists from every era of American art are on view, including John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, John Singer Sargent, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Norman Rockwell, Robert Motherwell and Sol LeWitt. All works in the exhibition are selected from the permanent collections of the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut. The exhibition runs through February 24, 2013.

Now there's even more reason for families to plan the weekend around a visit to Nassau County Museum of Art. Each Sunday the museum offers a docent-led family walk-through of the exhibition and supervised art activities for the whole family beginning at 1:30 p.m. Special family guides of the main exhibition are available in the galleries. Weekends only there is a $2 parking fee. This program runs through February 24, 2013.

The exhibition includes submissions from public and private schools in the townships of Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton, and Southold, as well as high schools from the township of Brookhaven. The exhibition will be on view from February 2 through March 3, 2013.

East End Arts presents an exhibit featuring the whimsical artwork of painter Barbara Pascal. In this collection of work, Barbara Pascal seems to be summing up a lifetime of personal impressions, as well as revealing her skills as an expressive painter. Runs through March 10, 2013.

In 1913, the American public was introduced to avant-garde European art styles at the International Exhibition of Modern Art, held at the Lexington Avenue Armory and known as the Armory Show. The Armory Show created a sensation; the controversial and radical art displayed there proved to be a watershed in the development of 20th-century American art. Modernizing America: Artists of the Armory Show focuses on American artists who participated in the Armory Show and explores the impact of European Modernism on American art in the early years of the 20th century. Through March 17, 2013.

Throughout the history of art, artists have turned to the observed world as a source of inspiration. This exhibition, drawn entirely from the Museum's Permanent Collection, explores the various realist movements of the 19th and 20th centuries, beginning with the mid-19th century Barbizon movement in France and the concurrent Hudson River School in America, and progressing through later 19th-century realism and 20th-century movements, such as the Ashcan School, American Scene painting, Magic Realism, Photorealism, and East End (Long Island) realism. December 8, 2012-March 24, 2013.

This anniversary exhibition highlights the breadth and depth of the collection through just 50 of the 605 acquisitions donated since 2006. The featured works include paintings, prints, photographs and drawings by 20th and 21st century American, Latino and European artists such as Luis Cruz Azaceta, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Stanley Brodsky, Lucien Clergue, Yonia Fain, April Gornick, Robert Kipniss, Howardena Pindell, Robert Rauschenberg, Donald Resnick, Alison Saar, W. Eugene Smith and Stanley Twardowicz, among others. Additionally, the exhibition includes Pre-Columbian figures and vessels as well as early to mid 20th-century African masks.

Find out how the physics of gravity, force, velocity and balance make radical tricks possible in action sports in this program that runs through April 22. Children under age 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

This hands-on exhibit allows families to learn about Jewish life, history, values, traditions and heroes, as well as Israel and the Hebrew language. The interactive displays are designed to transform visitors into participants, offering adults and children a unique opportunity to discover the wonders of Jewish heritage. Through August 31, 2013.

Family Center’s Spectrum Support Group offers caregivers mutual support by providing opportunities to meet with others also raising children who are dually diagnosed. To be eligible the child must have a primary Mental Health diagnosis and a secondary Spectrum diagnosis. Groups are facilitated by Parent Advocates, each having their own unique experience raising a child under the Spectrum. While caregivers attend group, respite can be provided to children ages 5-17. To receive respite, an intake is required. This ensures staff is familiar with the child, making caregiver’s participation more relaxing.
Meetings are held the first and third Monday of each month, except holidays. RSVP Miriam at 516-485-5914 xtn 2223
no later than seven days prior to the meeting date.

Looking for a fun after-school or weekend activity? Does your child want to learn how to make friendship and lanyard bracelets? Kids can make as many bracelets as they want. Each child will also receive a special gift. 15% sibling discount. Please call to reserve your space. You can also book a private play-date(10 or more children needed). Call for more information.

Go behind-the-scenes and see firsthand all that's involved in creating a hospitable environment for the aquarium's residents. And you may get a chance to help feed the clownfish. While the Seal Exhibit is under construction, you can visit them up close and personal on the tour.

Uncover clues to help solve a mystery in the outdoor sculpture collection. Pick up your caper kit at Emily Lowe Gallery, have fun while discovering more about these works, and at the end of the caper return to Emily Lowe Gallery for a prize. For everyone ages 4-9 and their grown-up companions all year-round. The program runs through January 1, 2014.

Kids and their grown up companions can stop in at the Hofstra University Museum's Emily Lowe Gallery, and pick up a backpack. At the end of your tour, return the backpack and each child will receive a small gift from the Museum. The program runs through January 1, 2014.

See the work of 10 skilled sculptors located throughout the scenic 75-acre arboretum on the Garden City campus.
This outdoor installation showcases the talents of Miggy Buck (NY), John Clement (NY), Maria Hall (NY), Ed Haugevik (NY), William King (NY), Anti Liu (NY), Johnny Poux (NY), Kim Radochia (MA), Christopher Saucedo (NY), and Hans Van de Bovenkamp (NY). Works of art encompass use of various materials-steel, bronze, aluminum, concrete and reflective mirrors. These man-made creations are transposed into poetic visual narrations.
The exhibition runs through May 31, 2014.

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